15 Films to See in February

With Sundance Film Festival 2019 in the rearview (all of our coverage here), it’s time to look at the promising films of February. An eclectic selection of major blockbusters, foreign highlights, and American indies, there’s something for everyone this month. See our picks below.

Matinees to See: The Gospel of Eureka (2/8), The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot (2/8), The Unicorn (2/15), (2/15), How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2/22), Paddleton (2/22)

15. Alita: Battle Angel (Robert Rodriguez; Feb. 14)

Developed as a James Cameron directing vehicle, he was a bit too consumed with his Avatar sequels to helm Alita: Battle Angel so he stepped down to be a producer and give over the reins to Robert Rodriguez. Despite the first trailers selling more of a generic visual effects-heavy drama, hopefully there is something stranger under the surface in this adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s work, following a non-human awakening with virtually no memory.

14. Piercing (Nicolas Pesce; Feb. 1)

One either loved or hated his debut The Eyes of My Mother, and now Nicolas Pesce is back with another divisive outing in the psychological thriller Piercing. Starring Mia Wasikowska and Christopher Abbott, Jared Mobarak said in his review,”Pesce lends an anachronistically obscure aesthetic to render the whole a more cartoonish laugh riot than even American Psycho‘s satirical bent could. Its theatricality allows a claustrophobic uncertainty to settle in until we question whether reality is involved at all.”

13. Donnybrook (Tim Sutton; Feb. 15)

Memphis and Dark Night director Tim Sutton steps up his scope with Donnybrook, which tells the story of two men, played by Frank Grillo and Jamie Bell, who prepare to compete in an all-out bare-knuckle fight for the coveted prize of $100,000. With a cast rounded out by Margaret Qualley and James Badge Dale, the film got strong notices out of its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and will arrive this month.

12. Fighting with My Family (Stephen Merchant; Feb. 22)

A crowdpleaser down to its bones, Fighting with My Family shows the importance of bringing the right perspective to a true story. This tale of a British underdog with major wrestling dreams is thoroughly elevated by the participation of writer-director Stephen Merchant. His brand of dry, off-kilter comedy surges through what is an inspiring, but by-the-numbers tale of childhood aspirations come true.

11. Lords of Chaos (Jonas Åkerlund; Feb. 8)

After premiering at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Jonas Åkerlund’s first film in some time will now arrive this month. Starring Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen, Sky Ferreira, Jack Kilmer, and Valter Skarsgård it follows the true story of a black metal band in Norway who went down an extremely violent path. A tricky balance of tones, reactions have mostly been strong, so we’re looking forward to finally checking it out.